Year in Review: The Cardinals gave Chris Perez the first shot as closing before the 2009 season began, and that didn’t work. Next, they turned to Jason Motte to handle the ninth, and that didn’t turn out either. As the Cardinals’ third option to finish games, Franklin gave fantasy owners a year that no one expected. He saved 38 games with a 1.92 ERA. He also struck out 44 batters in 61 innings, with a WHIP of 1.20. In terms of his arsenal, Franklin scrapped his slider in favor of a cut fastball, and the results were tremendous. His cutter was his best pitch, and he threw it more than 25% of the time, dropping his regular fastball use below 50% (41.3%). He still has some life on the ball, with his fastball averaging above 90 mph, and his cutter comes in close to the same mark.

The Year Ahead: With Tony La Russa manning the helm for the Cardinals in 2010, there is no guarantee that Franklin will keep his job as the team’s closer for much longer. He seemed to have lady luck on his side, with a .269 BABIP contributing to his low batting average against (.222). With that in mind, Franklin did increase he ground-ball rate, which is promising. Overall, Franklin isn’t going to be as good as he was last year. With his lack of job security, he has to be great from the get-go if he wants to remain in the ninth inning role. Don’t pay for his high save numbers from ’09; let someone else make that mistake. (Zach Sanders)

Profile: Thanks to the save statistic, Ryan Franklin will have his place at the table in fantasy leagues. Franklin racked up another 27 saves in 2010 as the Cardinals closer, but they came, once again, with some rather mediocre numbers on the side. Franklin didn't pile up the strikeouts (5.8 per nine innings) and didn't post a great reliever ERA (3.42). He did post an excellent 1.03 WHIP, as he walked only 1.4 per nine innings and allowed a .261 BABIP. However, there's no reason to believe that either of those number will remain in his next 65 innings pitched. Franklin will probably outperform his peripherals again -- his career ERA is three quarters of a run below his career FIP in 1173 innings. However, his WHIP will probably revert to the 1.20-1.30 range that it has sat in for much of his career, and he won't add much in terms of strikeouts, either. Because Franklin plays for a good team, he will probably have plenty of save opportunities and therefore plenty of value in standard leagues. However, Franklin should not go in the first “closer rush” that tends to happen in every draft, as his saves are likely to be his only true fantasy value in 2011. (Jack Moore)

The Quick Opinion: Ryan Franklin will find his way onto fantasy rosters thanks to his saves. Just make sure you don't find yourself paying for those saves early in a draft

Profile: Franklin proved once an for all he doesn't belong in a closer role last year with St. Louis. It's possible he may not even find a Major League job in 2012 as a result. (Jack Moore)

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